ELITE moved to late nights, LA Park/Cibernetico draw, Octagon introduces Hijo del Octagon

 

CMLL ELITE (WED) 04/13/2016 Arena México [CMLL, Kronosport, SuperLuchas]
1) Estrellita & La Jarochita b Dallys la Caribeña & Zeuxis
2) Dinamic Black, Jinzo, Metaleón b Heddi Karaoui, Okumura, Raijin
Bit of an upset win for team indie. Raijin appears to have new gear.
3) Cavernario, Felino, Tiger b Ángel de Oro, Golden Magic, Súper Crazy
Tiger pinned Crazy, after Crazy had ripped his mask earlier.
4) Xtreme Tiger b Último Guerrero [Liga Elite]
Tiger gets the upset win with a double stomp while UG was hanging in the ropes. Tiger is 1-1 (3), while UG is 0-1 (0). Very good match, money thrown in.
5) Dragón Lee & Rush b Argos & Carístico
Team Munoz took 1/3, losing the second on a Rush DQ for a mask pull. Rush snuck in a foul on Caristico.
6) LA Park DRAW Cibernético [Liga Elite]
finish saw ref go down, Cibernetico unmask LA Park, LA Park foul Cibernetico, and both men falling into a double pin for the first draw of the tournament. The finish sounds confusing and unclear. Both men are 0-0-1, with 1 point. Mask/hair challenges followed.

Attendance was up and the main event had a really screwy finish, which are both things you get when LA Park comes to town. I’m looking forward to seeing that figure it out, and looking forward to Tiger & UG because it just sounds very good. Note that Elite has 3 points for wins and 1 point for a draw – following soccer instead of the usual 2/1 for these things in Japan – and that means a draw hurts your chances a lot more in this tournament. I’d bet Juvy wasn’t supposed to go to a draw with Cibernetico and bringing Park in means all the finishes and long term planning would’ve had to change – but I think it’s unlikely they have a long term plan. It’d be a first.

The finish in Rush & Caristico means they’ll have a singles match next week. Card will be announced Friday.

The open to the Elite TV show keeps mentions the idea of multiple Ligas, and I keep thinking about when I see the lighter weight guys on this show. A Liga Elite 2 or Cruiserweight Liga Elite with the likes of Dragon Lee, Golden Magic, Jinzo, Tiger, Cavernario, and others would be as interesting as the main tournament, and I’d totally put up with 11 Argos matches in exchange for it. It seems unlikely they’ll get that far given the next paragraph.

The big news from the show was announced on Periscope by one of the announcers: Lucha Azteca 7 is moving from 6pm to 11:30pm on Friday nights. This appears to be a permanent move; Azteca’s TV guide has them there next week as well. They are also adding a show on Sundays at 10AM (a one hour show, so it’s unclear if it’s edited down or matches from the undercard.)

This is a killer move for Elite. They do have TV, and it’s on a big station, and maybe that added slot will help, but getting pushed out of prime time significantly kills the visibility of the show. This time slot specifically means pretty much anyone who goes to the Friday night show live will not be watching the Azteca TV show (it’ll start 10-20 minutes later.) I had been unable to find ratings information on Lucha Azteca 7, but this move suggests the numbers were disappointing for that time slot. Elite seems unaffected by business realities, so it’s hard to believe they’ll be going away, but they won’t be growing as much. If Azteca is already moving Elite around after two weeks, there’s no guarantee they’ll be there long term.

There was a shooting across the street from last night’s Arena Mexico show. Arena Mexico is part of a city block, and there’s a few restaurants and bars across the way on some of the sides.  One of those bars is El Buho Tropical, where a (drunken) fight broke out, and one of the participants pulled out a gun and started shooting. Two men and one woman were injured. There’s no word about their condition or what happened to the shooter. This happened after the show ended, which meant there were a lot of fans and vendors out along the street in between Arena Mexico and the bar, but it doesn’t sound like anyone at the show as involved.

CMLL (TUE) 04/12/2016 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Neutrón & Star Black b Gitano & Thunder Boy
2) Espectrúm, Raziel, Skándalo b Magnus, Marvel, Vaquero Jr.
Marvel’s first match here since 2014.
3) Amapola, Tiffany, Zeuxis b Estrellita, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit
4) Bobby Z, Euforia, Pierroth b Ángel de Oro, Máximo Sexy, Tritón
Rudos took 2/3. Euforia replaced Rey Bucanero. Bobby beat Angel de Oro, and Oro demanded a rematch.
5) Atlantis, Marco Corleone, Volador Jr. DQ Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Vangellys
Rey Bucanero replaced Shocker. Tecnicos took 1/3, the last when Rey fouled Marco. Marco wanted a rematch.
6) Último Guerrero b Cibernético
UG took 2/3, using the ropes to pin Cibernetico in the third.

IWRG (WED) 04/13/2016 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, Estrellas del Ring, The Gladiatores]
1) Black Dragón & Guerrero 2000 b Galaxy & Matrix Jr.
straight falls
2) Adrenalina & Freyser b Picudo Jr. & Violencia Jr.
Adrenalina kept screwing up, and Freyser turned on him. Straight falls.
3) Factor, Rayan, Spector b Emperador Azteca, Hijo del Alebrije, Zatura
Emperador Azteca replaced Dinamic Black
4) Black Terry, Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro b Hijo del Pantera, Pantera I, Pantera II
Good match. Terrible Cerebros want a tag title match and the Panteras accepted.
5) Negro Navarro, Trauma I, Trauma II © b Apolo Estrada, Canis Lupus, Eterno [IWRG IC TRIOS]
Turned into a bloody mask ripping match. Traumas took 2/3. Canis Lupus landed badly trying a plancha on Trauma I and appeared to be hurt. Match ended soon after, and Canis Lupus was said to be doing OK. Third defense.

The Octagon press conference was going on while the post went up yesterday. +Lucha has the whole thing, plus an interview with the Octagons after. Most of the details were the expected stuff Octagon’s said in interviews prior: he claims he owns the name and is fighting to get it in court, he claims he did not have armed guards with him to unmasked Octagon Jr., he’s planning on wrestling for years to come. Octagon put the blame on Flamita for the situation, saying Flamita had been in wrestling for 10 years and should know AAA will kick him to the curb when they’re done with him, so he should’ve stood with Octagon and unmasked. Octagon, who wrestled,

Most of the discussion from the press conference surrounds Hijo del Octagon and Octagon’s other sons. Octagon explained he had three sons, with the oldest (24) taking over the Hijo del Octagon. He also has two teenage twins who are said to also going into lucha. People with AAA noted they’d never heard Octagon mention his sons when he was with AAA. This had been brought up back when Kalisto was given the Octagon Jr. name, that Octagon only had daughters and so would have to pass it on to someone outside his family.

SuperLuchas provided an explanation, by revealing the twins are from a relationship Octagon had with a lucahdora outside his marriage, and Octagon had previously not acknowledged them as his sons. The history of the actual Hijo del Octagon is less clear. At the press conference, he was explained to have had a career in criminology in the United States, but had retired from it to become a luchador. Hijo del Octagon was said to have trained to be a luchador for 19 years, and had trained under Rey Mysterio Sr., Abismo Negro and Octagon himself. Abismo Negro hasn’t been alive in 2009 and Rey Mysterio has been in a wheelchair for many years, so any training with them is in the distant past – plus, if he was in the US for the last few years, he was training with other people or not training at all. (The story they’re going with is Octagon wanted his son to have a career before allowing him to wrestle.)

Octagon and Hijo del Octagon gave the impression Hijo del Octagon has never had an official match, but hopes/expected he would debut on an Elite card in the next few weeks. I find myself hoping he’s an indie luchador who’s being used for this spot, because the whole setup sounds impossible for a new luchador to do well in. Compare it to Nieto del Santo, who’s been training off and on for years, and he and his father are being super careful about when he’s going to have a match. It’s going to be bad for everyone if Hijo del Octagon is just thrown out there to prove a point.

There didn’t seem to be much push back on Octagon had to say at the press conference; most of the criticism can from Twitter. This seems to be thing with luchadors, and older luchadors in particular – most seem hypersensitive to criticism and the only way you’re going to get anything out of them is going along with the story they’re telling that day, but it was depressing to see Octagon’s side of the story presented without commentary. In a way, the video bits are better, because I can hear them ask the questions, but it comes thru in the text stories as if Octagon is just right about everything.

Octagon has a breakfast/autograph signing on April 17.

04/30 RIOT show
1: Caifan vs Dralion
2: Ultimo Ninja vs Jinzo

RobViper has highlights of 09/13/15 CMLL.

LuchaWorld has KrisZ’s news update.

Los Xinetez talk about their match in Leon, are heavily into death.

Diosa Atenea is off to Japan. She’ll head to the UK in May.

Guerrero de los Dioses took Laberinto’s mask in Cuernavaca.

Lineups

CaraLucha (SAT) 04/23/2016 Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México
1) Fiero vs Leonidas, Coyote
winner joins the promotion?
2) Centella Atómico & Wasson vs Alas de Oro & Príncipe Aéreo
3) Centvrión, Dragón Celta, Látigo vs Arez, Belial, Impulso
4) Guerrero Mixtico & Templario vs Trauma I & Trauma II
5) Último Guerrero vs Satánico

The last show was a hardcore show, this is more of a throw back show. Dragon Celta is a Mala Hierba members for the night. The opener is billed as winner joins the Cara Lucha family, but I’m unsure who’s meant to be in the Cara Lucha family.

ELITE (SAT) 06/25/2016 Auditorio Americo Villarreal Guerra, Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas
1) Histeria & Psicosis II vs Dark Ozz & Dark Spíritu
2) Cibernético & Sharly Rockstar vs Emperador Azteca (IWRG) & LA Park

This is a long way away, not a complete card, and little change of turning up, but it does include an appearance by Ozz, who gets asked about from time to time. This might be a show Ciberentico himself is helping to put together, which would explain Ozz coming back from retirement to help an old friend.

Lucha Underground 2×12: Three’s a Crowd

this was a great sequence
this was a great sequence

Matches

Killshot defeats Argenis (4:34, Storm Cradle Driver, OK)

Texano Jr. defeats Daga for an Aztec Medallion (7:03, sit down powerbomb, GREAT)

Prince Puma, Rey Mysterio, Dragon Azteca Jr. defeat Cage, Johnny Mundo, Taya (12:52, 630 senton, GREAT and I may be underrating it)

Developments

The show made a few visits to Dario’s office, but most of the happenings this week took place in the ring.

fosbery flop
fosbery flop-sault

The opener was the launch of a Killshot 2.0. It’s the same guy, but with a new military look, a prayer before the match to his dog tags, and a more disciplined style (or at least that’s what Striker kept on saying.) The match came off as an exhibition of his new style; Argenis wasn’t squashed, but he made less of an impression than Killshot did when he was in that role.

Daga was introduced in a meeting with Dario, with Dario hyping him as the hottest young star from Mexico but wanting him to prove it against Daga. Neither Daga nor Texano played strong tecnico or rudo in this match, though the size difference made Daga the underdog. They had a hard hitting match where Daga shined and escaped the powerbomb the first time, but not the second. Texano captured the first of the seven Medallions

Dario also met with the Cage, Johnny Mundo and Taya three some to explain he wanted this year’s trios tournament to top last year, and thought they would be unstoppable if they could just find a way to work together like Angelico, Son of Havoc and Ivelisse did. That didn’t work out, with friendly fire eventually leading to Mundo outright attacking Cage at one point. The rudo team was still strong enough to hold their own for a long and close main event, but it was the new tecnico trio who advanced.

Texano leg lariat
Texano leg lariat

Vignettes in Mil Muerte’s lair and Matanza’s cell established the two would meet for the Lucha Underground championship next week. Catrina used the earthquake the motivate Mil again (saying Matanza would be even stronger), and Dario claimed he was keeping Matanza in the cell for his own protection but vowed Matanza would destroy death itself next week. Dario actually might not be lying about the first part: Dragon Azteca Jr. confronted Black Lotus about working for Dario, and Lotus claimed it was the only way to get out her own cell, blamed Matanza for Dragon Azteca Sr.’s death, and said she was staying close to Dario to get to Matanza. We know different, though Dragon Azteca Jr. appeared to by the explanation.

As a footnote, the Mil vignette also established the Disciples of Death were in the trios tournament next week, and begged for forgiveness for their recent failures.

Thoughts

This was a really good night of matches. The top title is necessarily not the highspot battle it was before Matanza debuted, but this show – especially the main event – had the feel of the best of the Prince Puma championship run. They got a lot of time, more so than in recent weeks, and it felt like they really took advantage of it in the last two matches to put together some moments where it felt like that match must be over, and yet kept on going.

This show had a purpose too: they had two new characters and one reconstituted existing wrestler to get over with the crowd and the viewers at home, and it felt like they pulled it off. The opener did the least for me as far as overall match quality, but it also felt completely successful as far as breaking Killshot from his role to someone we need to take seriously again. Argenis is vanilla and didn’t show much here, but it wasn’t about him all that much either. Killshot getting the tricky dive and the big finish were big moments.

cage is really strong
cage is really strong

The Dario video with Daga did a fair job of conditioning the television viewer to care about Daga, but few in that live audience had any idea about him. Daga won them over with his wrestling by the end of that match, just coming in and making a fantastic first impression. Texano was pretty good too, getting his first match where he could go straight ahead and fight someone hard since the Alberto feud. Both men looked strong (and the person upping the volume on the strikes had a busy but productive day.) Daga does continue the grand trend of a debuting luchador losing in their immediate match, but he made it so people will be very interested in a second one.

The idea of Cage, Mundo and Taya as the opposition for the Dream Team (LU version) didn’t seem like the best choice on paper, just because it felt like the rudos failing to get along would limit the match. The rudos definitely didn’t get along, but it didn’t really harm the match much. Rey got kept out for a long time at the start, but then was all over the place near the end. Prince Puma had his usual excellent spots, and Dragon Azteca had plenty of his own too. Azteca could’ve easily been overshadowed by his partners, but instead made a name for himself really quickly. The best news is we’re getting at least one more match with this team.

This is one of their strongest shows so far. It’s a special recommendation to check out if you’re a person who’s tuned out because of the vignettes aren’t your style – the matches themselves don’t need the context to be enjoyed.

super Dragon DDT
super Dragon DDT

Elite & LU tonight, boring CMLL show last night, Octagon

Dorada springboard elbowdrop
Dorada springboard elbowdrop

CMLL (TUE) 04/12/2016 Arena México [thecubsfan]
1) Flyer & Robin b Artillero & Inquisidor LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
16:19. Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Arkángel de la Muerte, Canelo Casas, Metálico b Oro Jr., Soberano Jr., Starman LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
23:51. Rudos took 2/3. Oro Jr. replaced Star. Jr.
3) Disturbio b Stigma [lightning] LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
6:21.
4) Esfinge, Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso DQ Luciferno, Misterioso Jr., Sagrado LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
9:08. Tecnicos took straight falls, the last when Sagrado unmasked Esfinge for the DQ.
5) Gran Guerrero, Kráneo, Mr. Niebla b La Máscara, Súper Porky, Titán LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
11:47. Rudos took 1/3.
6) Dragón Lee, Máscara Dorada, Stuka Jr. b Dragón Rojo Jr., Pólvora, Rey Escorpión LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
8:16. Tecnicos took 1/3.

The lineup didn’t look good, and I had a thought that I should finish the ELITE recap from last week and other things, join the show in progress, and then restart it from the beginning to watch the early matches. I instead made the easier choice of just watching it live as normal. This was a very poor choice. The second match killed my enthusiasm for the show and most of it was a waste of time. The one angle they did (Sagrado unmasking Esfinge) didn’t even register as an angle, since it’s something they do all the time and usually doesn’t go anywhere in undercard matches. The main event was fun, but I encourage you to skip the two hours prior to it

Elite takes over Arena Mexico tonight. The two Liga Elite matches are LA Park versus Cibernetico and Ultimo Guerrero versus Extreme Tiger. Ultimo Guerrero talked about his match with +LuchaTV. Tiger’s the first guy having his second match in this tournament (and Negro Casas will have zero.) Tiger/UG will likely be the better match on the show, but LA Park versus Cibernetico is the more interesting. The two never had a singles match in AAA or anywhere else. If they did, it’d would’ve likely been a lot like the recent Dr. Wagner/Psycho Clown matches: walking around the fans while punching each other, using whatever they can grab as weapons, and possibly some blood. Doing the same in Arena Mexico usually causes you to stop being allowed in Arena Mexico for a while. This seems like as much a test of LA Park’s willingness to play by anyone else’s rules as was handing him a live mic last week. LA Park can either do the match he usually does, or he can stick around Elite.

The semimain on the card is a brothers versus brothers tag, Argos teaming with Carsitico against Mistico & Dragon Lee. Argos & Dragon Lee are slightly feuding, but the big deal is Caristico and Mistico on opposite sides of a match. Mistico is not in Liga Elite, so it’s not something which might be seen again soon.  Rush and Dragon Lee, not Mistico & Dragon Lee. That’s an interesting match, though not the one I wrongly had in my head. The tercera continues Super Crazy versus Dinastia Felino, with Angel de Oro & Golden Magic on the Super Crazy side. That tercera and the two undercard matches will likely air as highlights on TV this Friday, with the top 3 matches being shown in full.

Tonight’s Lucha Underground episode is episode 12 of the season, “Three’s a Crowd”. Announced matches:

  • Killshot versus Argenis
  • Texano versus Daga (debut)
  • Rey Mysterio, Dragon Azteca Jr., Prince Puma vs Johnny Mundo, Cage, Taya in the Lucha Underground Trios tournament

The main event was revealed during a commercial which aired (in some places) during WWE Raw on Monday

The TV preview description indirectly reveals the second match is for an Aztec Medallion. This is the second cycle for this Medallion/Gift of the Gods process. As a reminder, Dario has seven Medallions that he hands out. Once all seven are given on, the people who hold them compete in a match for the Gift of the Gods championship. The Gift of the Gods championship can be exchanged for a Lucha Underground title match, but the belt and the Medallions are given back to Dario at that point to restart the whole thing. The Medallions are usually given out in matches, but not always – Dario just gave one to Big Ryck last year and seemed like he was going to offer the same to Pentagon. There’s half the season left, and it seems reasonable that they’ll get to at least the Gift of the Gods championship match before the end of season 2.

A Rey Mysterio led show will take place in Chile this Sunday. MVP, Johnny Mundo, Carlito, Matt Hardy, Bobby Lashley, Pentagon Jr., Mesias, Ivelisse, Santana Garret, Apolo and The Wolves are also listed.

Shocker’s apparently not back yet; a sign in Guadalajara said he was replaced by Rey Bucanero. (Except, Rey Bucanero was already on the card.)

LA Park replaced Cibernetico on the Tuesday Puebla fair show.

CMLL luchadors were part of the presentation of a bill to make September 21st officially “Dia Nacional de la Lucha Libre y el Dia del Luchador Profesional.” Noted video blogger Ultimo Guerrero posted footage of the presentation. I don’t know the process it takes for something like that to become a law in Mexico (I missed the musical cartoon) but it’s a proposal with a good amount support at this point. Brazo de Oro led the group of luchadors, which may mean it was something pushed by the luchador’s union. Luchadors and lawmakers were pretty much unsuccessful in making any changes after the death of Perro Aguayo Jr., but perhaps something as low cost as giving lucha libre a day will be easier to complete.

Octagon is currently holding a press conference in Mexico City, and has introduced his son as Hijo de Octagon. HIjo de Octagon looks very young, but says he’s 24, has been training since he was 6 years and trained under Octagon, Abismo Negro & Rey Mysterio, and has studied in the US. His training under the last two couldn’t have been any time recently. It’s hard not be sympathetic to Hijo del Octagon, who’s

Octagon has otherwise repeated the same things he’s said elsewhere: he says he didn’t bring armed bodyguards to confront Octagon Jr., he supports young luchadors, and he owns the rights to his name. Screen shots from Mexico Trademark Search were posted around last night showing AAA actually owns the name; Octagon’s countered by posting his own documents claiming they prove he does. They actually appear to be papers requesting the rights to the name from 2015. Dr. Landru noted last night that request was already denied.

04/24 Lucha Memes in Coliseo Coacalco
1: Keira vs Princesa Sugehit
2: Alas de Acero, Iron Kid & Aramis vs Fujin, Raijin, Okumura
3: Oscuro vs Jinzo
4: Demasiado vs Super Mega
5: Fly Star & Toxin vs Ciber Punk & Garrobo Punk
6: Negro Navarro, Trauma I, Trauma II vs Belial, Arez, Impulso

The rest of the card showed up quick, but this card is already not that far away.

04/30 RIOT show
1: Caifan vs Dralion

A new episode of +LuchaTV is up, with highlights from the last month of lucha libre.

Kamaitachi is listed on the Under the Stars V show in Wappingers Falls, New York on August 27th, which leaves open the possibility he’s just sticking in CMLL.

Mascara Dorada still wants to fight KUSHIDA, would be willing to move up to middleweight to challenge Dragon Rojo or Ultimo Guerrero for their titles.

LuchaWorld has the 10 top rankings

RobViper has highlights of 09/22/15 CMLL.

Segunda Caida reviews Sombra versus Volador, regrets it.

Lineups

CMLL (SAT) 04/16/2016 Arena Coliseo
1) Leono vs Apocalipsis
2) Magnus vs Artillero
3) Starman vs Sangre Azteca
4) Pegasso vs Disturbio
5) Fuego & Stigma vs Okumura & Olímpico
6) Dragón Lee, Máscara Dorada, Titán vs Misterioso Jr., Terrible, Virus
7) Máximo Sexy vs Euforia [CMLL HEAVY]
7th defense

Maximo’s beat Euforia twice. I bet he’ll beat him a third time, but CMLL weirdly plays on the idea no one pays attention what happens to the other days they run shows.

Main event is actually not a title match; they set it up but it’s not listed on the program

IWRG (SUN) 04/17/2016 Arena Naucalpan
Guerra del Golfo, 2016
1) Black Dragón & Dragón Fly vs Galaxy & Picudo Jr.
2) El Divo & Freyser vs the Tiger (Tamaulipas) & Violencia Jr.
3) Diva Salvaje, Miss Gaviota, Pasion Kristal vs Factor, Rayan, Spector [super libre]
4) Oficial Fierro vs Máscara Sagrada, Danny Casas, Dr. Cerebro, Hijo De Dos Caras, Canis Lupus, Mike, Leo, Damián 666, Eterno [cage, losers advance]
5) Súper Nova vs Mr. Águila, Veneno, Golden Magic, Bestia 666, El Hijo del Diablo, Oficial AK47, Astro, Rafy, Apolo Estrada [cage, losers advance]
6) ? vs ?? [mask, hair, cage]

The annual “losers of two cage matches face off” show. Would IWRG dare to have another cage match ending involving Golden Magic? That would be amazing. Something along the lines of Dr. Cerbero versus Oficial AK47 seems more likely.

I’m assuming that’s the Nuevo Laredo based The Tiger in the second match, working with Monterrey’s Divo, but no idea. He’s probably going to need a new name.

CMLL (TUE) 04/19/2016 Arena México
1) Leono & Sensei vs Cholo & Inquisidor
2) Magnus, Robin, Star Jr. vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Hijo del Signo, Metálico
3) Blue Panther Jr., Hombre Bala Jr., Súper Halcón Jr. vs Disturbio, Nitro, Sangre Azteca
4) Esfinge vs Sagrado [lightning]
5) Blue Panther, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Hechicero, Morphosis, Terrible
6) Dragón Lee, Máscara Dorada, Stuka Jr. vs Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto

Lee, Dorada & Stuka team up again against the Hijos del Infernales, and are a random enough trios team to get a title shot. Esfinge/Sagrado follows on the DQ, which is actually happening on occasion of late. Morphosis hasn’t been around since November.

CMLL (TUE) 04/19/2016 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Capitán Cobra & Mágico vs Mr. Apolo & Rey Trueno
2) El Divino, Flyer, Marvel vs Akuma, Espíritu Negro, Joker
3) Rey Cometa, Starman, Tritón vs Fujin, Okumura, Raijin
4) Ángel de Oro vs Bobby Z
5) Atlantis, Marco Corleone, Volador Jr. vs Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Vangellys

Angel de Oro versus Bobby Z as a standalone match is strange. Seems a decent chance this lineup was planned before they realized Angel de Oro was losing his title.

Sky Team win non-title title match, Octagon (kinda) apologizes

Ultimo Guerrero a little fired up
Ultimo Guerrero a little fired up

CMLL (SUN) 04/10/2016 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Fuego en el Ring]
1) Guerrero de la Muerte & Mr. Brisa b Capitán Cobra & Linterna
Linterna replaced Rey Halcon, Guerero de la Muerte replaced Diplomatico. Rudos took 2/3.
2) Fugaz & Javier Cruz Jr. b Carlo Roggi & Mr. Apolo
Fugaz’s debut. Randy was also listed as debuting, but Javier Cruz Jr. replaced him. Tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Mágico b Sádico [super libre]
Magico submitted Sadico, demanded a title match.
4) El Divino, Magnum, Vaquero Jr. b Espectrúm, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
Tecnicos took 2/3.
5) Esfinge, Gallo, Tritón b El Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
Tecnicos took 2/3.

Magico gets his title shot this Sunday. No angle in the main event, the DF guys were just there to be there.

CMLL (MON) 04/11/2016 Arena Puebla [CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) El Malayo & Policeman b Black Tiger & Zaeta Roja LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 11 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
14:20. Rudos took 1/3.
2) Asturiano, Shockercito, Stukita b Demus 3:16, Espíritu Maligno, Mini Joker LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 11 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
13:48. Tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Kráneo, Olímpico, Ripper b Ángel de Oro, Blue Panther, Súper Porky LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 11 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
12:35. Rudos took 2/3.
4) La Máscara, Rush, Terrible DQ Atlantis, Máximo Sexy, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles] LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 11 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
10:53. Team Rush took 1/3, the last when Terrible pulled out the referee while UG was pinning La Mascara, and UG was caught fouling Rush (who seemed to be about to the same to him.) UG & Rush feuded thru the match. UG & Gran Guerrero demanded a rematch, kind of talking Atlantis into going with it.
5) Mistico, Valiente, Volador Jr. © b Dragón Rojo Jr., Pólvora, Rey Escorpión LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 11 DE ABRIL DEL 2016 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
6:56. Announced as a CMLL TRIOS defense (would’ve been 7th defense), but turned out not be one for no clear reasons. Sky team took 2/3.

Show was underwhelming, especially the super quick main event. I think changing from a title match to not one for no reason was bad, and not explaining it was annoying, but I probably would’ve gotten over it easier if they had the same quality match we’d expect from a title match. Instead, it was a super rushed match, on one of the earliest ending Puebla shows in a while. They had other places to be and I should’ve had other placed to be too.

LA Park did appear on the AAA Nuevo Laredo show, winning a four way with a unseen foul on Pentagon Jr. Now Canek is listed on the weekly AAA Nuevo Laredo card, following Dr. Wagner & Pagano showing up there before turning up in AAA proper and LA Park being scheduled to do the same. Could just be a fill in for LA Park at this point.

CMLL’s show tonight is a just a show. The Gran Alternativa tournament wrapped up last week, which means something new might start tonight, but there’s no telling what it’d be or if they’ll just run a show with no incidents. The main event is Dragon Lee, Mascara Dorada, Stuka vs the Revolucionarios, which is the same sort of high spot match last night’s main event seemed to set up to be, and will probably last longer than seven minutes. Dorada, Lee & Dragon Rojo are all singles champions and their opposition have logical opponents, if that’s the directions they want to go. It’s also the best chance for a good match on the show; every other match has at least one person who looks likely to bring it down. This is a skippable show. The preview lists Oro Jr. in Star Jr.’s spot,

The bigger CMLL show is in Guadalajara, which has Ultimo Guerrero versus Cibernetico. That’ll be better than the Arena Mexico one, if only because it has to be. A lack of planning is evident – the month of CMLL at Puebla’s fair shows are starting tonight, with a scheduled main event of Cibernetico (who won’t be there), Charly Manson, Psicosis Ripper versus Mistico, Valiente and some guy named Octagon in his first match after Sunday’s incident.

Octagon says he now knows what he did on Sunday to Octagon Jr. was not the right way to act, but he was just so angry that he did it without thinking. This, of course, is a another lie – Octagon went to the restaurant with a cool head, security and camera crews specifically to do what he did. It was not a decision of the moment, but something planned well in advance. Octagon says he’s received many messages of support from wrestlers, but has nothing against Flamita and has always supported youth in wrestling. To that end, he says he’s trained another luchador – just like he’s trained with Kalisto – to be his official successor. He may be going with Hijo del Octagon instead of Octagon Jr., and it’s not clear who it’d be (but it must be someone pretty brave to step into this mess right now.) Octagon says the new person will be announced at a press conference this week, along with more bombs.

Dr. Landru, looking thru the Mexico trademark search, noted Octagon filed for the rights to the name and was denied. AAA is still shown as owner.

Blue Demon Jr. blamed missing Rey de Reyes on a problem with the airline, and says he’s still an independent luchador who takes dates with AAA – that everything is normal. This is weeks after Rey de Reyes, a little late to say something about this, but I suspect he just got a lot of people sending him only after he didn’t appear on TV this past week. If it was simply a problem with the airline, that easily could’ve been said on air. They could’ve said it even if it wasn’t. They did not. The arrogance of lucha libre promotions regarding changes and never acknowledging them is driving me insane.

AAA previews the Leon card for next Monday, noting the Texano & Cage team is probably not going to end well.

Maquina 45 Jr. took the mask of Black Fish in Ciudad Juarez on Sunday. No name given yet. Black Fish was Hijo del Fishman prior. He had a falling out with Fishman, who took away the name and gave it to someone else.

There’s a proposal to make September 21st an annual Dia de Luchadors & Lucha Libre.

LuchaWorld has Poster-Mania and KrisZ’s news report.

Segunda Caida reviews this week’s Lucha Underground show.

RobViper has highlights of 09/10/15 CMLL.

Box Y Lucha #3228 has LA Park & Pagano on the cover.

Lineups

CMLL (MON) 04/18/2016 Arena Puebla
1) Astro, Centella Roja, París vs El Malayo, Fuerza Chicana, King Jaguar
2) Arkalis, Star Jr., Starman vs Policeman, Rey Apocalipsis, Toro Bill Jr.
3) Fuego, Stigma, Tritón vs Sagrado, Skándalo, Virus
4) La Máscara, Rush, Terrible vs Atlantis, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Cibernético, Mr. Niebla, Rey Escorpión vs Ángel de Oro, Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr.

Not Cibernetico’s debut in Arena Puebla: he wrestled here back in 1994 when this was still a UWA building. And probably nothing much going on in the main event with the singles match coming out of the second match.

This doesn’t seem like a strong show. Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill haven’t been good lately and they really haven’t been good with Arkalis.

NICE (SUN) 04/24/2016 Arena Coliseo Monterrey
1) Minion I & Minion II vs Flecha & Muerte Guerrera
2) Ángel Justiciero, Capitán America, Nacho Libre, Pedro Navajas vs Bengalí, Demonio De Caribe, Kalaka De Tijuana, Papi Chulo
3) Máximo vs Golden Boy, Dulce Kanela, Último Ninja
4) Caifan vs Pagano
5) Negro Casas vs Rey Hechicero

This would be the first ever Negro Casas versus Hechicero match; they’ve only been on the opposite of the ring in the trios and cibernetico matches of Hechicero’s En Busca de un Idolo year. It might turn up on TV, it’s hard to tell with Monterrey.